Join us The Sussex Bird Club for a presentation by SBC member, Tom Stock, but not about birds. It is about Tom’s second avocation, butterflies, which he came to from birding starting in 1994 soon after Jeff Glassberg published his Guide to Butterflies Through Binoculars. In 2010, Tom and a friend, Rick Borchelt, decided to try and see as many butterflies in Maryland as they could – a Butterfly Big Year. This is the story of that quest.

Tom is a native of the Washington, D.C. area. He grew up in Falls Church, Virginia, and came to birdwatching early in the late 1960s. That was after a close encounter while fishing along the Potomac River with his dad and brother with an African Fishing Eagle. It had recently escaped from the National Zoo, but even as a dread escapee, it fired Tom’s imagination. It was a short journey from there to owning a Collins Wildlife Guide and a Peterson Field Guide to the Birds and being thrilled by all the migrant warblers passing through his yard in Falls Church. Tom has been an avid birder ever since. But he has been a birder as an avocation. In “real life,” he spent 30 years as a mine safety attorney, first in private practice, then in the federal service for 23 years. Soon after retiring in 2020, he and his wife Alix moved to Rehoboth. From September to December, Tom spends as much time as he can at the Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch, and is a member of the Preserve Our Park steering committee.

The Sussex Bird Club's primary objective is to promote the knowledge and enjoyment of wild birds through guided field trips and monthly meetings about various aspects of birding. Meetings are open to all and beginning birders are always welcome.

NOTE: this session is available to attend in-person or through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER and indicate which you prefer.

If you have need assistance with registration or getting your Zoom invitation, please email us.

Basic written instructions for using Zoom may be found here and a brief video tutorial may be found here. Closed captioning is available for all our sessions. Information on enabling closed captioning in Zoom may be found here.